Safer-at-home projects on my boat

[christianbrat]

LED light strips for house lights. this is my THIRD set, but i've learned things: 3M adhesive backing always sucks so this time i used 4200, and the wire junctions are very prone to corrosion cuz their super cheap, so i wiped with a touch of dielectric grease and then over-wrapped all my junctions with electrical tape. hope this is my last set. (and of course, multicolored for maximum disco potential. normally i keep them on red for nighttime shuffling about, but i occasionally use the white for cleaning up squid mess or after lobster hooping. the blue's just for showing off at the docks and the green is just for my son who loves to mess with the remote control)

This is super cool!! I have blue LEDs, but which did you use to get all the colors?

[disposable]

the technology seems pretty common, so you just gotta find your preferred version. i went with long strips so i could reach the sponsons and cuddy, and waterproof tape for obvious reasons (it's only IP65, but that lasts a long time if it's not flexing). the adhesives are all pretty weak, so i added 4200. i think it was this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZFM4BT8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[disposable]

this project has been hanging over my head for a long time. i was nervous about adjusting the wipers, so i dragged my feet until i could build a mockup "windshield" out of plywood, and wired a spare battery to test the dynamics... then i drilled my house (another six holes! ugh!), and realized the wiper motor driveshafts were too short... so after a few more weeks of waiting for the shipment... i finally got to mount and wire my motors (ground, park, and slow; capped off the fast wire) with the pantographic bases on the exterior. had to modify the arms cuz they were a bit too long... and had to shop around for appropriate wiper blades to match the archaic swing arm ends... and then a TON of little adjustments to get the swing right, but now, i have two self-parking wipers.

some of the "big" jobs i scrutinize and research and talk to death, until they're trivial, but it's always the "easy" ones that sneak up on me.

[disposable]

and voila!

[croaker stroker]

Good job !  Looks professional.   

[JDB]

Not me doing it because the boat lived with my Pop.  Replacing fuel lines, deck fittings, fuel filter assembly, reroute fuel lines, remove-clean-reposition main and saddle tanks. 
Generally updating all the bits necessary for optimum reliability and piece of mind.

Starting some research on rewire (starting battery in the back, house battery up front)- but that is in the infancy stage of research.

[Kimbrey]

Nice work especially that radar mount. 
I couldn't tell how your antennas were resting on the rocket launcher. On my old boat I found a small bow stop something like this https://www.westmarine.com/buy/attwood--bow-stops-rubber--P006694772?recordNum=67 that the antenna would rest on when put down.  My thought it would better on the antenna versus whacking away on metal as you're driving down the road.  I'm assuming a fair amount of wind vibration when driving.

[disposable]

My thought it would better on the antenna versus whacking away on metal as you're driving down the road.  I'm assuming a fair amount of wind vibration when driving.

that's interesting. i made a few wraps on the antennas with white electrical tape, and i always cam the antenna brackets pretty tight before driving, so i haven't noticed any damage yet... but i'll have to keep an eye on that, they're surprisingly expensive and would probably be a hassle to replace, too. i like that rubber stop idea...

[croaker stroker]

I made a little snap-in antenna holder out of Starboard. It works very well to hold the antenna in place. The opening is slightly smaller than the antenna and the hole is slightly bigger. The Starboard is just flexible enough so it "snaps" in and out.

[disposable]

another^ classy project. bro, you get more life out of a sheet of starboard than anybody else ever. love it

[Ssericz]

For antenna holder I got a small rubber rod holder similar to CS design but an off the shelf option and at $2 worth it

[Ssericz]

Went thru a lot to get this photo for you 

[ohmytodd]

I took this one step further - I took the small rubber rod holder and screwed it to a slightly larger one that fits around my rails so that I didn't have to drill any holes. I've got one on my bow rail since I stow my antenna forward for travel. The second holder int he larger pack is where I rest my window when open.

[disposable]

Went thru a lot to get this photo for you 

you know i appreciate every minute. but looks slick

[disposable]

I took this one step further...

so, to be honest, you guys are stressing me out. my antenna just chills on the rack, and never seemed to move at all. i do cam the bracket down after laying it down, and it's loosely framed by two rod holders, and i do have some electrical tape on there to pad the antenna... but now i'm gonna toss and turn about this antenna clip thing!

just when you think you're out (of boat projects), they pull you back in!

[Wiley]

just when you think you're out (of boat projects), they pull you back in!

Never, Never, Never ! Lol.

[croaker stroker]

just when you think you're out (of boat projects), they pull you back in!

Never, Never, Never ! Lol.

[Tj805]

Lots of projects !
Your boats turned out really nice .
Wish I had the drive to / spare time to do all those things to my chaser .

[disposable]

soooo... looks like there will be a lot more safer-at-home time this winter... so i think i'm ready to open another can of whoops on my boat:

1- belly tank install, which lets me...
2- revamp my bilge (dual bilge pumps, TH water intake, drain, ?squid light? ?TH ducer next year?), and...
3- redo the electrical backbone (which will allow another round of improvements down the road, including my rebuilt windlass and my trim tabs, but for now...)... is all required to...
4- install a 45 bait tank!

i still have a month or two of tinkering and planning, but i'm hoping to come back with some exciting updates before presidents day...

[disposable]

OH! and i checked the antenna status... i think i'm ok with this for now:

[croaker stroker]

Maybe some cork tape and rod-butt shrink wrap ?

[disposable]

Maybe some cork tape and rod-butt shrink wrap ?

stop it! i'm looking ahead to bigger and better projects. they're clamped down at the mount, so they don't move a mm.

[croaker stroker]

Maybe some cork tape and rod-butt shrink wrap ?

stop it! i'm looking ahead to bigger and better projects. they're clamped down at the mount, so they don't move a mm.

I can't help myself !   

Nice bait tank. Where did you find that ?

[disposable]

Dude, I hear you. Every boat I see is a bunch of projects waiting to happen...

I found it on BD, I think it came off some big boat where it was mounted for a bow tank. It's an older OffShore, I wouldn't know asses from elbows but eric tells me older ones were more overbuilt, and as far as I can tell, it should clean up nicely. Seeing it on my driveway I was afraid it would crowd my deck but honesty it looks perfectly sized for this boat. I think I'm gonna plug a couple holes were the previous owner ran hoses through (!) then sand and gel coat in white... or I might just it leave it how it is, I already have plenty of mismatched gel coat by now...

[croaker stroker]

Eric knows his tanks. $1000 tank right there. New or used... they are fiberglass.  Like older Arima hulls....same as new.